Inside Matthew Perry and his sister Mia’s close bond as she honours him in new Netflix doc

Matthew Perry may have been known around the world for playing Chandler Bing in Friends, but away from the cameras, his relationship with his younger sister Mia Perry Bowick was a huge part of his life.

The actor, who died aged 54 in October 2023, spent decades struggling with addiction. And while his personal battles were often difficult, Mia remained one of the family members who supported him through everything.

Now, Mia is opening up about their bond and what it was like to watch her older brother struggle in Netflix’s The One About Matthew Perry. But their relationship goes back long before Matthew became one of television’s most recognisable faces.

So, who is Matthew Perry’s sister Mia?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mia, also known as Maria Perry Bowick, is Matthew’s younger half-sister on his father’s side. She is married to David Bowick, a composer, producer and author. Music composed by David plays over the credits of episodes 1 and 2 of the Netflix documentary.

Matthew was born in August 1969, while Mia was born in 1986, making him around 17 years older than his younger half-sister. They shared the same father, actor John Bennett Perry, but had different mothers.

As his acting career grew, she was still a child, and she got to see firsthand how his role in Friends changed the family’s life. Although Matthew became famous for playing Chandler Bing, his relationship with his family remained an important part of his life. In his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, he described Mia as the “hub of the Perry family”.

He also spoke warmly about the support he received from his younger siblings during his addiction struggles. “I had five younger siblings who never turned their backs on me, ever,” he wrote. “Imagine such love if you can.”

Mia stood by Matthew during his addiction battle

One of the most frightening times in Matthew’s life came in 2018, when his colon ruptured following complications linked to his substance use. He spent weeks in hospital, including a period in a coma, and faced a long recovery.

Mia was among the relatives who supported him during this time. Matthew recalled the moment she helped him understand just how serious his condition had become.

“There I was, attached to fifty wires like a robot, bedridden, as Maria filled me in,” he wrote in his memoir.

He went on to explain how difficult it was to face what had happened. “My very fears had been true: I had done this; this was my fault. I cried, oh boy did I cry. Maria did her best to be wonderfully consoling, but there was no consoling this.”

It was a lot for both of them to deal with. In his memoir, Matthew was also clear that he recognised how much his family cared about him, even during the periods when his addiction was at its worst.

Matthew was Mia’s ‘main confidant’

Their relationship was not only about Mia helping Matthew through difficult times. She also saw him as someone she could turn to for advice and talk to about everyday life.

Speaking to TODAY ahead of the release of the three-part documentary, Mia described what her older brother meant to her. “He was my main confidant in talking just about life stuff, you know, he was my big brother,” she said. “He always had the best, loving advice, and I do still talk to him.”

Mia also described Matthew as a “constant presence” in the family’s lives, even after his death. It gives a sense of how close they were beyond his struggles with addiction. 

Mia has also spoken about the pain of losing her brother. Matthew was found unresponsive at his Los Angeles home in October 2023. His death was ruled accidental, with the acute effects of ketamine listed as the primary cause and drowning among the contributing factors.

For Mia, losing her brother meant losing someone who had been part of her life for decades. At the December 2025 sentencing of doctor Salvador Plasencia, who was involved in supplying Matthew with ketamine, she spoke directly about the impact of his death.

“You snuffed out one of the most brilliant light sources we had,” she told him.

She also described how she felt after losing Matthew, saying, “I feel desperately alone and frightened.”

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